Article: Report: Lions, other teams have inquired about UFL K Jake Bates after 64-yard field goal

Were the Rams one of those teams???

Report: Lions, other teams have inquired about UFL K Jake Bates after 64-yard field goal

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By
Josh Alper



Published April 1, 2024 11:43 AM



It had been a long time since Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates made a field goal, but the UFL player made the most of his chance to change that.

The Panthers called on Bates at the end of Saturday’s season opener against the St. Louis Battlehawks because they needed a 64-yard field goal to win the game and they felt the kickoff specialist gave them the best chance of getting one. Bates had not made a field goal since high school, but came through twice — a late timeout gave him a practice try — and the Panthers got an 18-16 win that might propel Bates to the NFL.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports that the Lions are one of multiple NFL teams that have reached out to the Panthers about Bates in the wake of the field goal.

Bates played soccer at Central Arkansas and kicked off for Texas State before brief stints with the Buccaneers and Texans. He may be getting another look in the big leagues thanks to Saturday’s big boot.

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#HelmetHornsMatter

“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.

“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood